Worker Plunges to Death

Greetings,

Worker Plunges To Death in the St. John’s River

Under normal circumstances my goal is to keep these communications to you, our valued clients and friends, upbeat, informative and positive. A tragedy occurred in the industry last week and let me preface by offering my condolences to the family that lost a member. By no means do I wish to use this story to, in any way, devalue the loss that any family has experienced.

Last week a worker was performing some task on a bridge here in Jacksonville, Florida. In doing so the worker fell into the very tumultuous currents of the St. John’s River. The full details are not yet revealed but the news report revealed that a very brave co-worker risked his life and plunged in to rescue his fallen fellow worker. The worker did not make it out of the waters of the St. John’s River alive.

Loss prevention and education is the primary reason for our existence at Consolidated. The industries that we serve are often times very dangerous. The thought in our mind, for every sling that we make, is that there could be someone’s husband or dad working under what we have fabricated. Every fall protection class that is taught and every fall protection system that we install is with the thought of getting that husband or dad, (wives or moms too), home safely for dinner. Rules enforced by government agencies alone don’t keep workers safe, but education and quality systems do. It is our goal to provide the best in quality rigging and fall protection training and products.

To view the video of the news broadcast just click the link below.

Click here

I hope that you have a safe and productive day.

John Raulerson

*This video is from a public television broadcast and Consolidated Rigging is making no claim or judgment in any pending case. Consolidated Rigging was in no way involved or forms no opinion about this case specifically as we do not have all of the facts regarding this particular case, it is merely being pointed out that an accident involving a fall has occurred.*

Training for the Great Escape

The Great Escape

One of the basic human responses to any type of danger is first and foremost self preservation. We see this self preservation manifested in many forms. Take for example a fire rescue professional, they are trained to first and foremost save self while taking the calculated risk of rushing into a burning building to save the innocent. When I trained as a rescue swimmer in the U.S. Coast Guard my instructors repeatedly taught us to save one’s self while making the rescue. As a rescue swimmer, we even trained for self defense in the water.  Often the person being rescued will attack the rescue swimmer, in an attempt to save themselves, and possibly drown the rescue swimmer. It seems strange that a drowning person will drown their only hope for salvation, however, a person in imminent danger panics and does the unthinkable. Any rescue professional is always trained to save self and plan for a successful recovery from the danger that they face.

As I was thinking of this basic human reaction a funny story came to mind. Way back in the 70’s when Las Vegas was really becoming a popular attraction for those wanting to increase their cash revenue, with a not so calculated risk, at the gaming tables. My grandfather was one who had that draw for the card tables and liked to spend time out west in Vegas. Well one particular point in time there was an outbreak of hotel fires in the casinos. I am not sure if it was arson, bad wiring or smoking in the hotel bedrooms but there was a clear and present danger at that time. So not to be deterred from the blackjack tables my grandfather devised a “self preservation” rescue plan. He was not going to fall victim to some guy with a pack of pall malls and too much booze passing out and setting the hotel on fire. So he came out to the shop and directed the guys to pull a reel of ½” 3-strand nylon rope, cut a three hundred foot piece, and form knots in twelve inch increments  the entire length of the rope. He then wanted it coiled back up and put in a bag. This seemed an odd request so the guys asked him what he was doing with the rope. After he told them to mind their own business he explained his odd request. He explained, “well I am going to Vegas and they have had a bunch of fires at many hotels. They aren’t gonna burn me I am going out the window on this rope” That is quite the action plan, repelling 300 feet on a rope is not my idea of a good plan,  but he was the type of person that was not going down without a fight. This plan probably came from his Navy training in WWII where they learned how to stay alive and do so in a practical manner.

This common sense approach to saving one’s self has not changed in scope but has greatly improved in process and equipment. When it comes to fall protection,  fall arrest systems and personal protection on works sites  equipment has greatly improved. The awareness has greatly improved as well.  A recent project that Consolidated completed was a problem that one of our clients has struggled to solve for over four years. The area of concern was elevated about forty feet and the workers entered a very tightly confined work space. The risk of falling was heightened by the oily slick flooring in the housing. The other problem was the structure was built out of wood, cancelling out many of the “out of the box” fall protection applications. We brought in the experts from Webb Rite Safety who evaluated and engineered a flawless system with 100% tie-off capabilities and put an end to the fall protection risk once and for all. The workers were able to return to a productive work environment without the risk of falling to their peril. In addition to learning the value of self preservation from my grandfather I have learned that if you do not have the answer or the solution… know where to find the answer or solution. It is the many business relationships and the many professionals that add to our successful solutions that we offer to you our client. Work with purpose and do so safely.

All the best

John Raulerson